Samsung still has not decided whether Kang Min-ho will start in Korea Series Game 1, after manager Park Jin-man said on the 2nd that the catcher's condition had not improved much and would have to be checked again until the next day. The timing matters because Samsung is one day from the first game of the Korea Series and is still trying to settle its battery plan.
That question is landing now because Samsung is chasing its first championship in 12 years, and Kang is one of the players most central to how the team handles the opener. He played every Playoff game against the KIA Tigers in poor physical shape, then said after Game 5 that his side pain made it hard to take a full swing. He added that if he sat out simply because it hurt, there was no guarantee Samsung would reach the Korea Series again.
His value goes beyond the bat. Kang became the first player in KBO League history to reach 2,500 career games this year, and he has never won a championship ring. This season he hit.267 with 13 home runs and 58 RBIs in 111 regular season games, then went 4 for 15 in five Playoff games against KIA. Samsung also shifted Won Tae-in to the bullpen after Kim Jae-yoon was injured, which only increases the importance of getting the opening-game pitching and catching setup right.
The same uncertainty hangs over the rest of the lineup. Koo Ja-wook, who won his first batting title this year, has been dealing with a left hamstring injury late in the season and managed only a.150 average in five Playoff games after returning in Game 1. He said there were no problems with daily life, but that playing would depend on the manager's instruction and on his own physical checks. Choi Hyeong-woo, 43, was also moved into left field starting from Playoff Game 2 after Samsung managed only two hits from him in Game 1, even though he usually serves as a designated hitter.
Park said Choi played defense continuously except for Game 1, but the broader picture is that Samsung is entering the Korea Series with several key players not fully right. Kang's case is the sharpest of them all because he kept playing through the pain and still may not be available when Samsung needs him most. The next update will not be a formality: it will decide whether Samsung opens the Korea Series with its most experienced catcher behind the plate or with a late change at the most important position on the field.
